


A First Date

by Evening12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anxiety, Community: rarepair_shorts, F/F, Femslash, First Dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 12:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14832065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evening12/pseuds/Evening12
Summary: Hermione’s thoughts don’t cooperate during her date with Padma.





	A First Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nearlyconscious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nearlyconscious/gifts).



> Thanks to Kiertorata for the quick beta job! All mistakes remain my own. 
> 
> This piece was supposed to be much more fluffy...but Hermione didn’t want to cooperate but I do hope that I managed to tone down the angst. Thanks you Nearlyconscious for all of the pairing options! It’s my first go at Hermione/Padma and it was a fun experience to think about them being together.

So many things could go wrong. Hermione didn’t know why she had said yes. Gryffindor bravery was to be blamed she was sure of it. She should have kept her head down and finished her 8th year at Hogwarts without any heroics. But here she was with Padma in _Tomes and Scrolls_ on a date. 

What if? What if something went wrong? Something had already happened. She had been late to meet Padma. Hermione hated tardiness but she had needed to finish her Advanced Arithmancy homework. Hermione had rushed to Hogsmeade, still doing her hair. She had borrowed one of Lavender’s hair scarves, a teal and copper one. She had wrapped it quickly around her head, leaving her curls to spill from the top. 

She had been a whole 15 minutes late but here she was standing in front of Padma. 

“You’re here.” Padma tucked behind her ear stray hairs which fell from her side braid before pushing open the door of _Tomes and Scrolls_. “Let’s not waste our time outside of the shop when there are books to see.”

The chime of the bell welcomed Hermione and Padma into the bookshop. Row after row of white bookshelves and the occasional black table and chair filled the shop. The shop was quiet in comparison to the bustle of Hogsmeade, but Hermione’s thoughts were loud. So loud that she missed most of Padma was saying. A few well placed ‘yeses’ and head nods wouldn’t be enough to make this date a success. Padma had stepped away and Hermione couldn’t recall why. All those coping tools she learned to deal with her anxiety after the War were much easier to grasp when they were theoretical instead of practical. 

What if? What if this date was a mistake? Hermione’s hand shook as she ran her fingers on the spines of the books. She discreetly looked around the bookshelves hoping to find _Tomes and Scrolls_ ’s resident cat. Petting cats helped her calm down. It was one of the reasons that she had brought Crookshanks to Hogwarts.

“Hermione.” Padma approached Hermione, holding a cooking book in one hand. 

Padma’s voice broke Hermione’s train of thoughts. Hermione’s fingers stopped on a beautifully embossed book spine. 

“Yes.” Hermione noticed for the first time Padma was wearing blue teardrop earrings. 

“Would you care to pick a book for me?” Padma toyed with the end of her braid. “A book I should read, that is?” 

“A book?” Hermione took a deep breath. “I think I have just the right one for you.” Gryffindor bravery was to be blamed for this date, things would go wrong, and Hermione would be okay. Hermione took hold of Padma’s hand and led her towards the back of the shop.


End file.
